Rangers Fan Fighting Cancer: "I Believe In Them"
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - For a Fort Worth couple, watching the Texas Rangers isn't just about cheering their team to victory. Since one of them was diagnosed with cancer, it's become a way to spend as much time together as possible.
Theda and Roy Darden have been married 70 years. Even after all that time, they still hold hands. "I was 17 when we got married," Theda said. "We met at church."
But, the Darden's don't know how much longer they'll have together.
"They're saying, well you got about six months to live. When the doctor was through, I said 'Doctor my life is in God's hands," Roy recalled.
Despite never having been a smoker, two weeks ago, 92-year-old Roy was diagnosed with lung cancer. Since then, the husband and wife have barely left each others side.
The past few weeks the couple has spent many hours at their Fort Worth home cheering on and watching their favorite team -- the Texas Rangers.
"To be a fan, you just boost for your own team and keep believing in them. That's the way I feel today about the Rangers," said Roy.
The Darden's moved from Oklahoma to North Texas in the late 1960s, and Roy has been a Rangers fan since the team moved to Arlington in the early 1970's. He says watching the team march through the playoffs, all the way to the World Series, has lifted his spirits.
Despite the team's recent loses Roy says, "I'm still pulling for the Rangers. I think they'll pull it out."
Theda is a new Rangers fan. She started getting into baseball after their family bought them a big screen television as an anniversary present. She had vision problems, and said watching sports on their older, smaller television was uncomfortable. "We had several of our family come in last night and watch with us," she said.
Now, watching the games is a way for Theda to spend time with her husband. "We get to watch together and togetherness means a lot to me right now," she said.
For everyone who sees them, it's clear that after 70 years the couple is still very much in love.
